First, welcome Mike. Glad to see you here. Yes – Selco has done a wonderful thing here, helping people for the sake of helping people – an increasingly rare breed of people. And it brings out the best in like-minded people. There are some really decent people here, and as you explore the older posts – especially the ones in the prepping threads, you’ll find a wealth of education that would be cost-prohibitive for many people if they purchased a library of books on various topics from growing, surviving, protecting, you name it. Plus, some of the things that Selco has shared would be hard to find anywhere else (don’t neglect his blog). Enjoy and appreciate.

Having lived there for nearly 8 years (worked in Orange County, lived in San Bernardino area), I found that living where I could see the “air” and watch a perfectly solid concrete sidewalk move up and down in waves, was not a place I felt inherently comfortable. Not wanting to stay and play the odds, we moved back “home.” We can have an occasional major hurricane, but at least by the time it gets here the winds would almost always be under 100mph even in a worst case situation. Tornadoes? They happen all the time – but at best are generally only a couple hundred yards or so wide, and less than a mile long. That leaves a massive amount of land never touched. We’ve even had two go over the house but not touch down (heard one of those, but just watched the other on radar). We accept that for also giving us a growing season that includes about 2/3 of the year even without a greenhouse. And with a rainwater collection and Berkey Filter system, we’ll virtually always have sufficient water for not only survival, but also keeping the gardens going. And we won’t freeze to death here. Finally, prior to a SHTF situation, we’ve got virtually any kind of shopping or medical resource we could need within short drives. (Plus,the 2nd Amendment is alive and fairly well in this area – we don’t need no sanctuary cities for guns. )

As for Whirlibird’s statement:

Depending on the SHTF situation . .

When the major earthquake scenario finally becomes a serioius SHTF situation, I frankly wouldn’t want to be anywhere near the area. Scrounging for resources could easily get you killed in the granola capitol of the world (land of fruits, nuts, and flakes). I don’t believe there is an ideal location – we just seek the area that seems to pose the best odds for survival with the least risks for our own personal and family situation, in what will still ultimately turn out to be something much less than 100% predictable. Thus, Selco’s gift to those that have eyes to see, ears to hear, and brains to comprehend.